Two own goals from defender Liam Kitching condemned Coventry to a 2-1 defeat at home to Cardiff that prevented them from closing the gap on the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.
Norwich’s lunchtime defeat at Leicester presented the Sky Blues with a chance to close to within one point of the top six and they appeared to be on their way when Ellis Simms struck to extend his superb goalscoring run.
However, the luckless Kitching twice put the ball into his own net to give the mid-table Bluebirds their first win in three games and keep the gap between Coventry and the Canaries at four points.
The first chance of the game fell Coventry’s way after six minutes when Haji Wright charged through the middle before playing in Kasey Palmer, whose effort was held by Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.
A bright start by the Sky Blues continued with midfielder Ben Sheaf bending a superb effort from outside the area narrowly over the bar, with Horvath well beaten.
Against the run of play, Cardiff believed they should have been awarded a penalty in the 15th minute when Perry Ng went down under Jake Bidwell’s challenge but referee Leigh Doughty was unmoved.
The hosts took the lead after 22 minutes when Palmer played the ball right for Milan van Ewijk and his low cross was tapped in by Simms for his 11th goal in seven games.
However, the Bluebirds drew level in bizarre fashion seven minutes later when Joe Ralls’ corner caused problems, leading to Kitching slamming in the first of his own goals.
The best chance the Sky Blues had to regain the lead before half-time came when Van Ewijk pulled the ball back for Palmer, who miscued his effort wide.
Cardiff then almost completed the turnaround within 23 seconds of the restart when Josh Bowler hammered a long-range strike narrowly past the post.
An even better chance for the Bluebirds then came when Yakou Meite’s pass put Karlan Grant clean through on goal, only for the striker to shoot well wide.
Having started the second half shakily, Coventry began to reassert themselves with Van Ewijk quickly sorting his feet out after Wright’s pass ran his way before shooting off-target.
However, Kitching’s tortuous afternoon took a further turn for the worse when Bowler’s cross deflected off him and looped into the far corner past a stranded Brad Collins to gift the visitors the lead.
Coventry boss Mark Robins turned to his bench in trying to salvage the situation but going behind had clearly rocked the hosts, whose passing now lacked its earlier accuracy.
They did have the ball in the net with six minutes left when Wright headed in Sheaf’s cross but the linesman’s flag quickly silenced Coventry cheers as their promotion hopes took a hit.
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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